Cooperative members grow tree seedlings in small “sachets” that they fill with dirt.
As the rainy season in Senegal rapidly approaches, CREATE! field technicians and cooperative members are preparing for their annual tree planting campaign. As soon as the rains begin, cooperative members will work with CREATE! staff to plant the trees in garden sites, near schools and mosques, and within the yards of family homes.
The Senegalese Department of Water and Forestry donated the “sachets” used during this year’s tree planting campaign.
Cooperative members have been caring for tree seedlings in nurseries within their garden sites for the past several weeks. For the first time, CREATE! staff were able to source cashew and morenga seeds from trees growing in the Diender and Fass Koffe garden sites. Technicians acquired the reminder of the seedlings from the Senegalese government.
Once the seeds are planted, cooperative members care for the seedlings as they grow.
Cooperative members will plant more than 19,000 tree seedlings during this rainy season! Trees provide shade, moderate temperatures, and produce fruit and nuts. They can also serve as windbreaks and living fences in community garden sites. In the future, community members can also harvest firewood from these trees.
Once the seedlings grow larger and the rainy season begins, women can begin transplanting the small trees.
Khalipha Ndiaye, while assisting with the tree nursery program in Fass Koffe, notes “from CREATE!, I now know the usefulness of trees in nature.”
Cooperative members planted these trees in the Diender garden four years ago. They are already providing shade for the garden site and cashews to sell in local markets.